5 Answers
5

In a software development context, this document is part of the requirements and is the starting point before writing code.

The main client (the owner of the application) generally writes an “Expression de Besoin”
then the “Maîtrise d'ouvrage” will translate the needs into functional specifications and finally the IT contractor (“Maîtrise d'œuvre”) will write some technical specifications then code what is needed to answer the needs.

In real life the IT contractor generally goes straight to code without writing technical specifications.

Generally found as "expression des besoins" and means "customer requirements". Requirements are inputs used by a supplier or a contractor to design a solution and a proposal for the customer. This is not limited to software engineering. To obtain a valid proposal, a customer has first to express its needs. "Document de travail" means "draft document" or "work in progress".
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minsJan 29 '14 at 0:04

Assuming that "Expression de besoin - document de travail" is the title of a document, it would be better to use "expression de besoins" or "expression des besoins" which are literal translations of "statement of requirements" and is a step (or the product of a step) in some IT project management methods.

I think this should be pretty close to the SRS, which is a standard document from IEEE that defines the framework of the software development through discussion between the customer and the contractor. Since the customer is king, in French, he is expressing his needs in this "expression de besoin" document that the contractor will have to fullfill.